Dining Notes: Eat Up Downtown returns; biscuits on the rise in Murray Hill

Photos by Nancy White For the Times-Union Maple Street Biscuit Co. has opened its third store. The Five, a top seller, is topped with spicy sausage gravy.

Tuesday is National Chicken Wing Day, and local wing shops are offering hot deals.

Jacksonville-based Maple Street Biscuit Co. opened its third location last week, at 1171 Edgewood Ave. S. in Murray Hill.

The star of the show is, of course, the biscuit. Maple Street’s are made fresh daily. Our faves so far are The Five — a flaky biscuit with all-natural fried chicken breast, pecan wood-smoked bacon and cheddar cheese topped with spicy sausage gravy; The Farmer — basically The Five, except hold the sausage gravy and slather it with fresh house-made apple butter; The Squawking Goat — a flaky biscuit, all-natural fried chicken breast, a fried goat cheese medallion and house-made pepper jelly; and the side of Smokey Mountain Mac-N-Cheese — a side of five-cheese baked macaroni with a cheese cracker crust.

Hours at the Murray Hill location are 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Saturday

Eat Up Downtown back with 19 restaurants

Nineteen local restaurants will offer their wares when Downtown Vision presents Eat Up Downtown from Monday, Aug. 11, through Sunday, Aug. 24.

The restaurants will serve three-course, prix-fixe menus at $15, $25 or $35, and Foxy Lady Cruises will offer dinner and a cruise on the St. Johns River for $45.

There aren’t any tickets to buy. Just make reservations at your favorite place. Popular spots book up fast, so make your reservations early.

■ Participating restaurants will offer a sneak preview of prix-fixe menus for Downtown Vision Alliance members on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 8-9. Members must present a valid Discover Downtown member card. Beat the crowd by becoming a member at discoverdtjax.com.

■ Igers Jax and DVI have partnered this year for an Instagram photo contest with prizes. Details at eatupdowntown.com and on Instagram @IgersJax.

■ Uber Jacksonville (which connects riders to drivers via apps; www.uber.com) will offer up to $30 off a first-time ride for new users during the promotion, with the code EatUpDTJax.

Summer seasonal items offered at First Watch

First Watch has added three new seasonal menu offerings available through Sunday, Aug. 17:

Eating champ Joey Chestnut followed up his Nathan’s Hot Dog victory on July 4 by eating 182 Hooters wings in 10 minutes recently, again winning that title. Now he’s calling on you to join the action.

Participating Hooters restaurants will make it easy for you on National Chicken Wing Day on Tuesday by offering all-you-can-eat wings for $12.99.

Nancy White blogs about food and culture at www.nourishthebeast.com. Feast your eyes on her mouth-watering photography on Instagram @nourish_the_beast. She’s also pinning on Pinterest and posting on Flickr @nourishthebeast. If you see something happening in the dining world, email Nancy at feedback@jacksonville.com.

Dining Notes: Eat Up Downtown returns; biscuits on the rise in Murray Hill- By